I
am attending college and am
involved in a panel discussion
talking about women in the media.
I need a correct feminist view
on some questions that are:
If women are objectified in
the media, then why do they
[model/pose as] sexual objects,
subservient to men, etc.? What
is the feminist point of view
of women in the media? Are positive
roles of women moving forward
and if so, how?

Any
information will be most helpful
to me. Thank you for your time.

Lynnette

Dear
Lynnette,

I
actually get asked a lot about
women in the media and though
I'm not the definitive feminist
opinion, I am certainly full
of different perspectives. I
think that this is a particularly
interesting question for young
women who grew up both with
these stereotypes and with an
analysis of the ways in which
the media inaccurately represents
women. This means that young
women can choose these stereotypes
and simultaneously know that
the media isn't giving them
the full story. They can oppose
the media's narrow view of women
and simultaneously know that
they can choose this for themselves.

As
for why women continue to buy
into the media's portrayal of
them, I think that the answer
isn't to do away with these
images, but to make sure that
other images are available and
equally respected. For instance,
it's just as bad and inappropriate
for women to be told that they
have to be skinny and blond
as it is to tell them that they
can't be skinny and blond. The
good news is that with magazines
like Honey, Latina
and Mode, we are getting
more images of women.

Another
point is that many of the women
whom I know who complain about
the media's portrayals of women
are the same women who buy these
magazines and thus support these
images. If women are really
that outraged then they shouldn't
buy the magazines. Yes, some
women choose to be objectified
by the media, and that's their
choice. Other women choose that
role because they don't think
that they can choose anything
else. So again, the goal of
feminism should be to ensure
that women have more choices
as well as to ensure that women
have enough resources to know
what choices exist.